Debug session problems

If you want to find more information about a problem in a session or want to fix it, consult the system log, which stores log data for your user session and applications.

The ~/.xsession-errors X session log file has been deprecated and is no longer used.

View session log on systemd-based systems

On systemd-based systems, you can find the session log data in the systemd journal, which stores the data in a binary format. To view the logs, use the journalctl command.

To view your user session logs:

  1. Determine your user ID (uid) by running the following command: 

    $ id --user
1000

  2. View the journal logs for the user ID determined above:

    $ journalctl _UID=1000

For more information on the systemd journal, see the journalctl(1) man page.